The black granite memorial to Sontonga, designed to reflect the image of the viewer

RELATED LINKS: The search for the man who wrote our anthem AN ACT of vandalism at Braamfontein Cemetery helped locate the missing grave of Enoch Sontonga, the man who wrote South Africa's national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (God bless Africa). The discovery of the grave, now a national monument, ended months of patient and ingenious detective work by city officials, archeologists and historians. Read more Johannesburg City Parks Johannesburg City Parks, a self-contained business owned by the City council, is the agency responsible for the maintenance and development of Johannesburg's parks and cemeteries. Read more Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika Click here

Joburg celebrates Sontonga anniversary JOHANNESBURG City Parks is calling on all Africans touched by Enoch Sontonga's verse to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of the man who composed the national anthem of 20 countries. March 22, 2005 By Ndaba Dlamini ENOCH Sontonga, the man who wrote South Africa's national anthem, "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika", died a century ago this year. The 100th anniversary of his death will be observed on 18 April 2005, and Johannesburg City Parks is planning an event to commemorate the day. Sontonga, a teacher and a lay preacher, wrote the first verse and chorus of the anthem as a hymn for his school choir. He passed away in 1905 at the age of 33. Jenny Moodley, the spokesperson for City Parks, says the event will highlight the contribution of Sontonga, dubbed the "Father of Africa", to South Africa's history and heritage. "Twenty countries in Africa have adopted 'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika' as their national anthem. The song is being sung in different languages in different countries and it is our belief that the composer - and his song - should be honoured." Moodley says there will be publicity about the day, with schools, government departments, the corporate sector and the general public called on to get involved in the commemorative event. "Embassies of different African countries who use 'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika' as their national anthem will be invited to commemorate this day with us because the song is a uniting force in Africa." Alan Buff, the general manager for technical support for City Parks and head of the 1996 Sontonga Memorial Committee which found Sontonga's final resting place in Braamfontein Cemetery, says the song was adopted by the African National Congress as a closing prayer at its meetings in the early 1920s, adding to its significance. "The history of 'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika' is now a hundred years old. Sontonga's memorial at Braamfontein Cemetery, which was unveiled by former president Nelson Mandela in 1996 on the first Heritage Day in independent South Africa, serves as a reminder of the composer of the song." Buff says in 1996 the National Monuments Council instructed the Johannesburg parks and technical services department to locate Sontonga's grave, believed to be somewhere in the Braamfontein Cemetery. The Sontonga Memorial Committee was formed, and it took months of painstaking work before his grave was finally located. "Sontonga's book of songs, believed to have been in the possession of a relative who lived in Pimville, Soweto, was lost when the relative passed away in 1996." Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za